Scientists from the Universities of Tokyo and Tohoku have discovered tiny 1.9 billion-year-old fossils that belonged to eukaryotes.. They could tell researchers how and when complex life evolved, according to Forbes..

Prior to this, the oldest evidence for the existence of eukaryotes was primitive algae dating back 1.5 billion years ago..

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Scientists have long wondered when the evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes took place.. Unlike prokaryotes, such as bacteria, eukaryotes have a complex structure and nucleus, and are also the most likely precursors of complex multicellular life as we know it now..

The Gunflint Formation contains the remains of ancient hydrothermal vents that were deposited about two billion years ago at the bottom of the sea.. The first bacterial microscopic fossils were found here in 1954, now they are called the "

However, since the 1970s there has been little research into the diversity of microfossils found at Gunlint.. In addition, no evidence of the existence of eukaryotic microfossils has been recorded..

In a new study, scientists sought to evaluate microfossils, so they conducted a geological study of the formation and collected rocks that contain fossils.. As a result, they found five types of microfossils: colonial, ellipsoidal, intracellular inclusions (ICI), spiny, and caudal..

According to Kouhei Sasaki of Tohoku University, the new fossils were more functional..

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This suggests that microorganisms have evolved to contain nutrients that can help them overcome environmental stress.. Fossils with spines and tails show features favorable for mobility and nutrient transfer between cells, which is a typical morphological feature of eukaryotes..

“Although cells are by definition prokaryotic in size, they have already evolved eukaryotic functions,” Sasaki noted.. This indicates that prokaryotes may have begun to diversify their functions and prepare for evolution even before the emergence of eukaryotes 1.8–1.6 billion years ago..

Scientists believe that the unique environment formed at that time contributed to the evolution of microbial forms..

The collision of land masses and the formation of mountains hastened the weathering of the continent to the ocean. It is likely that under these conditions, microorganisms diversified their morphology as a survival strategy, thus paving the way for the formation of eukaryotes..

Previously, scientists have said that the mass extinction of marine creatures may be due to the movement of the continents.. According to the researchers, the position of the continents could fill the water with oxygen necessary for life, but their movement could lead to the opposite effect..